Tiger Woods has confirmed to tournament organisers that he will enter The Open Championship this year, ensuring that he will participate in at least three of golf’s four major championships this year.

The Open, which will be held at Carnoustie in July, announced Woods’ entry into the event in a press release on Wednesday night.

Woods returned to competitive golf in December after a string of injuries, and Wednesday’s news ensures that his first year back will feature at least three major appearances. He finished in a tie for 32nd at this year’s Masters, and he has previously committed to play in the US Open at Shinnecock Hills next month. The 42-year-old has not yet said whether he plans to compete at the PGA Championship in August.

Woods has won three Open Championships in his career and his best finish at Carnoustie was a seventh-place showing in the 1999 Open Championship.

Woods finished tied for 55th at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship and is slotted to tee off in a star-studded group on Thursday at The Players Championship, alongside Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. He told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that he has generally been pleased with how his return has unfolded thus far.

“I didn’t know what to expect this year,” Woods said. “To sit here 12 months ago and you would have said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be playing The Players Championship and you’re going to have had a chance to win a couple of events this year,’ I would have said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. I can barely walk.’

“I wouldn’t say it’s gravy, but it’s unbelievable, and I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity again because I didn’t know if I would ever have had. Trust me, I’m fully aware of how special this is for me.”